U.S. Crude Oil Output Keeps Rising under Democrat, Republican Administrations
"The unplanned fossil fuel boom reflects an uncomfortable truth for Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris: it is difficult for any president to stop the spigot of U.S. oil production, a leading driver of both the economy and climate change," the report noted.
"If you were to show someone who came from Mars the line of U.S. oil and gas production over the last 15 years, they probably would not be able to tell whether a Republican or Democrat was in the White House," said Jason Bordoff, founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.
The reality is that the United States is already dominant, which is expected to produce 13.2 million barrels of oil per day on average this year -- millions of barrels more than Saudi Arabia or Russia, according to the report.
Biden's signature 2022 climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act, has also helped boost production of solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy, but he has struggled to significantly wean the U.S. economy from fossil fuels because of legal obligations, political challenges and market demand, said the report.
"The prospect of high gas prices is a political nightmare that haunts all presidents, and Biden is no exception. Each time gas prices have shot upward, Biden has taken steps to relieve the pain at the pump -- even if those steps were seemingly in conflict with his climate goals," it said.
"The White House was walking a political tightrope that would only get narrower," it added. Experts said the impact of Biden's climate policies may become clearer in the coming years if Harris succeeds Biden and continues on a similar path.
4155/v
